Key of Heaven

The transcendental artifact of Yun Gardes, the relic of Saint Peter. This item was something that couldn’t even be analyzed with ‘Insight.’

What am I supposed to do with this?

That was Heo Sungshik’s honest thought when he first received the ‘Key of Heaven’ from Yun Gardes.

‘Is it some sort of key required to enter Saint Peter’s ruins or something?’

A reasonable assumption Sungshik had made at the time. Items like these were typically used to access hidden dungeons or event dungeons.

However, his expectations began to falter not too long ago.

From the Heaven-Splitting Divine Sword, he acquired the ‘Future Vision’ skill. From the Rune of the Full Moon, he gained the ‘Fragment of Light’ trait. He started receiving skills and traits in ways he had never imagined.

‘What the hell is this? This is insane.’

Sungshik felt incredibly lucky to have obtained such items by sheer fortune.

And this time was no different.

―‘Key of Heaven’ is resonating with [B-Rank] Wind Scar.

A notification rang out just as Sungshik found himself in a dire situation. Once again, it all started with the ‘Key of Heaven.’

―Trait―[EX-Rank] Heaven-Splitting Martial Arts and Skill―[B-Rank] Wind Scar are resonating!

―Skill―[B-Rank] Wind Scar can evolve into [S-Rank] (Heaven-Splitting) Wind Scar. Do you wish to proceed?

Out of nowhere, he was asked whether he wanted to evolve the Wind Scar skill. There was no need to even think about it.

“Yes.”

―[B-Rank] Wind Scar has evolved into [S-Rank] (Heaven-Splitting) Wind Scar. Congratulations.

For a brief moment, Sungshik’s body emitted a glow, and in his skill window, [B-Rank] Wind Scar was replaced with [S-Rank] (Heaven-Splitting) Wind Scar.

“Oh.”

An unbelievable phenomenon. Not once in his previous life had he heard of an item capable of performing such miracles.

‘Just what do they want from me to be giving me all this?’

At this point, he even started to worry about the price he might have to pay in return.

‘No use thinking about it now. I’ll figure it out later.’

For now, clearing this dungeon was the priority.

After staring at the ‘Key of Heaven’ in his hand for a moment, Sungshik stored it in his inventory and checked his newly acquired skill.

[S-Rank] (Heaven-Splitting) Wind Scar

• Type: Active
• Generates multiple wind blades imbued with the power of Heaven-Splitting. The number of blades can be adjusted at the caster’s will.
• Attack Power: Scales with the caster’s magic coefficient and their mastery level of Heaven-Splitting Martial Arts.
• Cooldown: None

“!”

Upon reading the description, Sungshik was taken aback. This was leagues beyond the original Wind Scar. The fact that it now contained the power of Heaven-Splitting alone meant that its destructive force had increased exponentially.

Moreover…

“There’s no cooldown?”

The cooldown had completely vanished. This meant that as long as he had enough mana, he could use it freely like a technique from Heaven-Splitting Martial Arts. It seemed that inheriting the power of Heaven-Splitting had classified the skill as a Heaven-Splitting Martial Arts technique.

Without hesitation, Sungshik tested it out.

“Wind Scar.”

As he activated the skill, he felt a massive chunk of his mana being drained.

Shuaaaa—

Wind blades infused with Heaven-Splitting’s power shot forth. The surrounding air itself was slashed and torn apart.

Though there was no designated target, Sungshik instinctively understood. The destructive force had increased tremendously. With this, he could definitely slice through the exoskeleton of the Giant Ground Wasps.

“…The mana consumption is pretty extreme, though.”

The drawback was that it drained more mana than he expected. If he used it at full power, his mana would be depleted after just three or four consecutive uses.

“Well, if I could spam a skill this powerful without limits, that would be broken.”

To use it freely without worrying about mana, he would need to reach at least the 8-Star realm, where he could resonate with external energy.

He also tested using fewer wind blades by reducing the number.

“Not bad.”

Although it still consumed a lot of mana, if he adjusted the number and range, he could use it multiple times in combat.

Feeling more confident, Sungshik reorganized himself and continued through the cave.

After traveling for a while, he encountered another swarm of Giant Ground Wasps. This time, there were nine of them.

Before they could surround him and form a formation, he immediately launched a preemptive strike. He had learned from the previous battle that it was best to strike before they could coordinate.

“Wind Scar.”

A full-powered Wind Scar!

Fwoooosh—

The result was astonishing. Their tough exoskeletons were sliced apart like tofu. Since he had used the skill at full power, all nine wasps had been caught within its range.

“Wow, is this for real?”

Sungshik couldn’t help but exclaim in awe. The first swarm had been a grueling battle, but this time, they were wiped out with a single skill. Anyone who witnessed this would think it was absurd.

His current level was still 5-Star+. There was a clear gap between 5-Star+ and 6-Star. And yet, he had just annihilated multiple 6-Star-level beasts in a single strike—something that even the 11 Thrones wouldn’t have been able to accomplish.

“…Well, maybe that old man Martial Emperor or Sword Emperor could do it.”

The Sword Emperor and Martial Emperor, both possessing EX-Rank traits—perhaps they could pull it off.

That was the level he had reached. In his previous life, Sungshik couldn’t even dream of stepping into the shadows of the 11 Thrones. But now, he had grown to the point where he could be compared to the highest among them.

This realization hit him hard during this hunt. If he continued progressing like this, it wouldn’t be long before he caught up to the 11 Thrones.

He advanced further into the cave, effortlessly cutting through enemies thanks to [S-Rank] (Heaven-Splitting) Wind Scar.

Then, he encountered a group of approximately thirty wasps. The largest swarm he had faced so far.

One of them, leading the group, stood out. It was noticeably larger than the others, and its exoskeleton appeared even more solid.

Key of the Sky

‘Insight.’

Giant Ground Wasp Warrior

• Rank: 6-Star+ (★★★★★★)
• Combat Power: A
• They dig tunnels underground and form massive colonies. Their exoskeleton, akin to heavy armor, is not easily broken.
• A warrior that commands the Giant Ground Wasps. Grants a morale boost of +30 to nearby Giant Ground Wasps.

‘A Named Monster.’

Even within the same species, there were monsters known as Named. Goblin Warriors, Orc Duelists, and so on. This one seemed to be a Named variant of the Giant Ground Wasp. Among its stats revealed by Insight, the most noticeable was the ‘Morale +30’ effect. It had an ability that provided a widespread buff to the surrounding wasps.

‘If there are multiple of these, this could be troublesome.’

Area-wide buffs were one of the trickiest aspects when facing enemies in unit formations. A +30 morale boost meant they would essentially enter a berserk-like state, significantly increasing the attack power of ordinary Giant Ground Wasps.

However—

“Wind Scar.”

Crunch—

Even a Named monster was shredded apart before the power of Heaven-Splitting Wind Scar.

“This is a gold mine.”

Collecting the items dropped by the Giant Ground Wasp, Sungshik couldn't help but mutter those words. His initial worries now seemed pointless—the moment he acquired (Heaven-Splitting) Wind Scar, the difficulty had dropped dramatically. So much so that he was beginning to wonder if this was even fair.

‘So this is what it means to get something for free.’

With ease, he eliminated several more groups of wasps, periodically using internal energy circulation to restore his mana as he progressed forward. Before he knew it, he had reached the end of the tunnel.

‘Is this the final area?’

Emerging from the tunnel, he found himself in a vast, open space.

“Wow, this is breathtaking.”

Sungshik's eyes widened like saucers at the sight before him. A massive cliff stretching hundreds of meters high was covered in countless beehives. If all the wasps inside hatched, there would easily be thousands of them.

In other words, the total population of wasps in this dungeon could number in the thousands. Even now, just floating in the space before him, there were at least hundreds of Giant Ground Wasps.

‘So the seventeen tunnels I saw earlier all connect to this place.’

Surveying the terrain, Sungshik realized that all seventeen tunnels he had encountered led to this very chamber.

‘How am I supposed to find the boss in all this…? Oh?’

Just as he was feeling overwhelmed, he spotted the largest hole among the beehives in the cliffside.

‘That’s it.’

He instinctively knew that the boss would be inside that chamber. His best bet was to maneuver past the numerous airborne wasps and approach it unnoticed.

Fortunately, the tunnel he had exited was the lowest among the seventeen, positioned close to the cliff wall. Sticking closely to the rock, Sungshik carefully climbed out, ensuring he remained undetected as he moved along the surface. It was an incredibly tense moment.

‘One mistake, and they’ll all swarm me.’

If even a single fight broke out, he would have to face the hundreds of wasps in this chamber.

Luckily, the queen’s nest—the presumed boss room—was located toward the far right. It was situated in the middle region, rather than at the very top, which meant there were fewer wasps around it, making a stealth approach possible. He was relieved it wasn’t positioned at the highest point.

As he carefully moved along the cliff—

Bzzzz—

A single Giant Ground Wasp flew toward him.

‘Hold.’

Sungshik instinctively held his breath and suppressed his presence. The wasp landed just a few meters ahead, twitching its antennae as if searching for something. It might have sensed his movements and come to investigate.

Clenching his lips tightly, Sungshik made a swift decision.

‘Heaven-Splitting Step—Ghost Step.’

With a ghostly footwork technique, he instantly closed the distance.

The wasp hadn't even noticed his approach.

Slash—

The blade, infused with the power of ‘Sky,’ lightly brushed past its neck, causing its head to drop with a soft thud.

As its body began to tilt toward the ground, Sungshik hurriedly caught it.

‘No noise.’

The corpse soon disintegrated into dust and vanished.

‘Phew.’

Taking a brief moment to steady himself, he resumed his movement—now even more cautiously. Every second felt excruciatingly long. Finally, he reached the entrance of the hive without incident.

Each opening in the beehives was about two meters wide. Inside, countless larvae wriggled about, similar to what he had seen in normal beehives.

‘Damn, if I killed all of these, that would be a ton of EXP and coins.’

Rather than being disgusted by the sight of the larvae, he saw them as pure experience points and currency.

‘Tch.’

Clicking his tongue in disappointment, he sighed. Especially now, with his rank-up to 6-Star so close, he felt a pang of regret.

Shaking off his hesitation, Sungshik used Parkour to swiftly scale the hive. From here on, it was a race against time. With his current physical abilities, he could reach his destination in under a minute if he went full speed.

But moving so openly made him an easy target. He had to reach the boss room before the wasps noticed and swarmed him.

Bzzzz—

Before he was even halfway up, the wasps had already detected him and begun their charge.

‘Faster than I expected.’

It had only been a few seconds since he started moving, yet they had already reacted. The swarm of Giant Ground Wasps rushed toward him.

Bracing himself, Sungshik positioned his back against the hive opening and activated Wind Scar.

‘Wind Scar.’

Fwoosh—

The storm of wind blades shredded through the approaching wasps, sending their bodies plummeting. Before those outside the attack range could close in, he immediately resumed his ascent. At the same time, he didn't forget to use a mana potion.

―‘You have used a Low-Grade Mana Potion. Your mana is slightly restored.’

Mana potions were twice as expensive as health potions, so he had been saving them—but now was not the time to be stingy.

Fwoosh—

Once again, he unleashed Wind Scar. After two more uses, his remaining mana was nearly depleted.

But just as he reached the limit, he made it into the boss room.

―Beep. You have entered the Boss Room. Defeat the boss.